The daily gossip: Kanye West turned down the chance to host American Idol, and more

1. Kanye West turned down the chance to host American Idol

Who better to judge a reality series than Kanye West, who has spent years and years consistently demonstrating his excellent judgment? According to Us Weekly, Fox offered West the chance to serve as a judge on the upcoming season of Fox reality series American Idol — but he turned it down. "He didn't want to go that mainstream," said a source. "He didn't want to lose any street cred." Now West can focus on the artistic integrity of the projects he does care about — like selling $120 plain white T-shirts. [Us Weekly]

………………………………………………………………………………

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

2. James Franco is getting his own unscripted series

America is in the midst of a critical James Franco shortage — it's August, and he's only starred in four movies this year. But never fear, Francophiles: According to Variety, the actor has signed a deal with Ovation to star in an unscripted 10-episode series called James Franco Presents, which is set to premiere in November. Ovation CCO Robert Weiss stressed that Franco's program is not a "reality show," but an "anthology docuseries," which is presumably a placeholder until they can think of something even more pretentious to call it. [Variety]

………………………………………………………………………………

3. Snooki called Kate Middleton a MILF

Kate Middleton's official title is "Duchess of Cambridge," but thanks to Snooki — who is nothing if not queen of the Jersey Shore — Middleton can add another title to the list: MILF. "Congrats to Will and Kate on their beautiful baby boy George! […] I can already tell he's going to be the cutest royal baby ever!!" wrote Snooki, who has clearly forgotten about Princess Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Snooki ended her open letter with the note, "Kisses to you guys, and Kate….you're a MILF" — which we're guessing means a Mother I'd Like to Fawn over. [E! Online]

………………………………………………………………………………

4. Sylvester Stallone might be making a Rambo TV show

Sylvester Stallone's never-ending quest to milk all of his old franchises for every last dollar has finally migrated from the big screen to the small screen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor is in talks to participate on a "creative level" about a possible Rambo TV series, which would answer all the dangling questions left over after four Rambo movies and a children's cartoon. Further details weren't available, but we're going to go out on a limb and guess that the first episode will include a scene where he fires a machine gun while yelling a lot. [The Hollywood Reporter]

………………………………………………………………………………

5. Elizabeth Olsen might play Scarlet Witch in the Avengers sequel

We're still a couple years away from a full-fledged sequel to The Avengers, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning. The latest example? Reports that Elizabeth Olsen is the favorite to play superheroine Scarlet Witch, who will join the superhero team in the sequel. The character will reportedly fight alongside Quicksilver, her brother in the comics — which is a relief to all of us who felt that seven superheroes just weren't enough for one movie. [Slashfilm]